Our March issue also means that it’s time to celebrate V-Day. No, not Valentine’s Day. We’re talking about the really most important date in February, the 22nd: PS Vita’s launch day! Hands-on time with PS Vita is more potent than any cupid’s arrow, so the PTOM editors reveal which games and accessories they’re coveting and break down the purchasing decisions you’ll need to make on day one.

Elsewhere in the mag, the love fest continues with our first in-depth look at Lollipop Chainsaw. Zombies and cheerleaders?! Sounds irresistible to us. We’ve also got big previews on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and the gorgeous new JRPG Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. And we put Street Fighter X Tekken through its paces to determine the game’s most potent tag-team combo.

Things are also picking up on the reviews front as some of the biggest first-quarter releases have finally arrived. SoulCalibur V proves that its weapon-based fighting action is as sharp as ever, the Jak and Daxter Collection fuels our nostalgia for the good ol’ days, and we finally get to see whether action RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning lives up to its considerable potential.

Check it all out in the March issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, hitting newsstands on Tuesday, February 14—you know, that other V-Day.

PlayStation is just days away from embarking on another historic console journey with the launch of PS Vita — the most ambitious entertainment device you’ve ever held in your hands. PS Vita was first unveiled to the world as NGP, the “Next Generation Portable,” in January 2011 and formally christened as PS Vita during E3. In the time leading up to the big global launch day on February 22nd, we chronicled the designers as they created the world’s most advanced handheld gaming system and heard from some of the most-respected game developers in the business.

We also recently revealed what’s in the box for the PS Vita First Edition Bundle launching to early adopters on February 15th. Today, we wanted to welcome you to our world with this new video. Guy Longworth, Senior VP of PlayStation Brand Marketing, and John Koller, Senior Director of PlayStation Handhelds, show you everything you need to know to enjoy the out-of-box experience moments after you wake your PS Vita for the first time.

The day we’ve been waiting for is nearly here! Remember, kids: Never. Stop. Playing.

As you know, the epic return of Twisted Metal is less than a week away and we’re going launch it with a bang … literally. Ever since the announcement at E3 2010, we’ve been fighting over who gets to keep the real Sweet Tooth truck, and we had an idea … let’s shoot at it till it blows up! So that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.

We happened to get our hands on a couple M249-SAWs (for the layman: fully automatic machine guns) and enough ammo and explosives to wipe out a small nation. Put those things together and we’re gonna make the truck go boom (for the layman: we’re blowing Sweet Tooth’s ice cream truck off the face off the earth). But here’s the kicker: it’s not gonna be us who are shooting it. It’s gonna be you!

That’s right, we’ve hooked these guns up to a satellite so you can control them remotely from your computer. Yes, you read that correctly. You can shoot a real gun with real bullets at a real truck from your computer, in a crazy, two-day, shoot-till-the-truck-goes-up-in-a-gigantic-ball-of-flames-style internet spectacular. It’s all happening at shootmytruck.com via live stream.

So go to shootmytruck.com right now to sign up for a chance to shoot. I can’t think of a better way to spend Valentine’s Day than shooting up a truck from your computer and then going out and buying Twisted Metal. Get your trigger fingers ready, America. It’s shooting time.

Today’s lesson focuses on risk vs. reward in the high-stakes world of vehicular combat. Experienced Twisted Metal players have long known that the highest-damage attacks require quite a bit of risk, and this 2012 revival is no exception. Whether you’re swooping in close to deliver a point-blank Shotgun blast or charging up the devastating Swarmer missile, Twisted Metal’s sprawling arsenal requires a firm, steady hand.

Watch today’s new video to learn how to best manage high-risk special attacks such as Roadkill’s devastating Blood Missile Barrage and Reaper’s Flamesaw — two of the most lethal weapons in the game. Then use this knowledge to give you a headstart on multiplayer combat this February 14th when Twisted Metal finally lands on PS3!

This week, the Video Unlimited service offers the comedy crime film Tower Heist two weeks before its DVD and Blu-ray release. Also new is A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas and new episodes of “Tosh.0″ in TV Shows. Plus, celebrate films that never lived up to their expectations with “Box office Bombs” – the $5 Films promotion gives you the chance to own Land of the Lost, Half Baked and The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle for just 5 bucks! Check it all out here.

New to the Music Unlimited service this week is the highly anticipated A Different Kind of Truth from Van Halen, plus The Fray’s Scars & Stories, Home from Dierks Bentley, and more. See all these plus other featured titles here.

Subscription Links:

• Subscribe via iTunes
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When we launched PlayStation Blogcast just a few months ago, we promised that we’d deliver big PlayStation personalities. And there may be no bigger personality than David Jaffe, the outspoken co-director for next week’s PS3 revival of Twisted Metal. Jaffe is a fixture in the often-tumultuous world of videogame development, playing a key role in 1995’s Twisted Metal as well as serving as director of God of War and creative director for God of War II. In our lengthy discussion, Jaffe sounds off on a host of topics: his development plans after Twisted Metal, the game’s 90s-licious soundtrack, incorporating fan requests, finding the game’s unique visual identity…and why he loves Oprah and Doctor Phil (seriously).

As always, we reveal next week’s PSN game lineup, answer a slew of user questions, and share a user tip (actually, two tips). This week also sees us discussing our favorite PSone games, sharing our favored strategies for Twisted Metal combat, and providing some details on PS Vita memory cards and game storage. Not a bad show, even with Nick Suttner out on a travel assignment…but as always, we insist on hearing your thoughts and feedback!

How’s our driving? We want your feedback, comments, questions, and suggestions, so leave ‘em in the comments below!

Action Items

• PS Vita First Edition Bundle
• Twisted Metal University
• Zen Pinball: Epic Quest table
• Lumines: Electronic Symphony for PS Vita

The Cast

Zen’s Epic Quest

It is the sworn duty of every knight to seek out evil, defeat it, and take its stuff. One such knight is Max, whose enthusiasm for combat is surpassed only by his love of rare and valuable loot. Join Max as he battles hordes of evil (or just evil-looking) monsters, rescues a wealthy princess, and accumulates the loot and XP that make good deeds worth doing. If Max suffers a defeat, never fear! He will return in the next game with all of his hard-won loot and experience levels intact.

As you complete missions and table objectives, Max earns loot, which is essential for defeating monsters and impressing n00bs. Put together a set of “epic” gear and become the envy of all your frenemies! Supposedly, it helps you fight better, too. And if a game ends, experience and loot carry over to the next game. Yes, you read that correctly, your experience and loot carry over from game to game, just like an RPG!

Writing a deeper story that continues to play out as you spend time with the table was essential in the creation of this table. It really makes the game more enjoyable and increases the incentive to continue playing. We also wrote a lot of Monty Python-type humor into the story, so expect some laughs!

Max the Knight & Loot

Players will be required to defeat a monster during the Encounter mode in Epic Quest. When the player defeats this formidable foe, they will receive loot in the form of weapons or armor. Swords, axes, shields, spells and more will be won in order to help Max develop into a true (not to mention well-dressed) champion. As loot is won, Max will actually use items and they will be visibly applied to his image. Loot is classified into three categories:

• Yellow – common items
• Blue – better items
• Purple – epic items (!)

The possibility of finding an Epic item increases with each level of Max the Knight, so the higher level you are the more likely you are to find more valuable loot. Because you get to keep loot game after game, Max will appear in the same gear he ended with when a new game starts.

From Lesser Knight to Epic Hero

It took some time to perfect the XP formula for Epic Quest, but the result for the player is a new set of challenges and rewards outside of just keeping the ball in play. You will earn XP for completing missions and hitting specific shots on the table. XP is represented on a large red bar below the flippers at the front of the table. After filling the XP bar, Max will level up!

Max begins as a Minor Knight with hopes and dreams of someday becoming an Epic Hero. As Max levels up, he becomes more and more powerful…er, capable! As a more “capable” knight, Max will be able to inflict more damage on monsters and enemies, which means he will be able to discover more valuable loot including epic items, and multi ball jackpot values will increase. Whether he reaches is goal of being an Epic Hero or not is up to you!

Epic Quest will release next Tuesday on PSN as DLC for Zen Pinball, and we hope you enjoy the table and the new direction we have taken. As always, THANKS SO MUCH for your support, and we appreciate your feedback and encourage you to send us questions or comments on the Zen Facebook, Twitter or forums. Oh, and do not forget to pick up Twisted Metal!!! This is one of my all-time favorite games and you can be sure I will be playing it day one!

PS Vita will begin making its way into gamers’ hands in just a few short days! Day one Vita owners will have many, many games to choose from, with 25 titles announced for launch on February 22nd. Actually, make that 26 — Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus is now a confirmed launch title as well.

If you’re being thorough, however, that number is off by a bit… like by 90%. Hundreds of classic PSP titles and minis will also be available to play on PS Vita on day one via the PlayStation Store. Even better, if you’ve already downloaded a compatible PSP title, you can download it directly onto your PS Vita at no extra cost (please note that some limitations do apply).

There are a couple of ways to get these PSP games onto your PS Vita:

• Purchase PSP games from PS Vita’s PlayStation Store and download via WiFi directly to your system. If you’ve already purchased a game via PSN from the list below, you can redownload it from the Download List.

• If you’ve already got one of these games sitting on your PS3 XMB (or have purchased from the PS3’s PlayStation Store), you can connect your PS Vita to the PS3 via the included USB cable, and transfer the game via PS Vita’s on-board Content Manager.

Here are the first 275 PSP titles ready to be downloaded onto PS Vita. Don’t worry if you don’t see your favorite title here now; more PSP titles will be made available for PS Vita play in the coming weeks. We’ll keep this list current and let you know when updates are made.

PSP Titles

PlayStation Minis

Hi everyone! With only a few weeks to go until launch, PlayStation Vita is the hot topic on everyone’s mind here at SCEA. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably counting down the minutes until Vita arrives, anxiously awaiting the availability of what’s sure to be an industry game changer. Today, I’m here to give you your very own first look the PS Vita First Edition Bundle.

Early birds who pre-ordered the First Edition Bundle will their PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi system on February 15, a FULL WEEK ahead of its official launch on February 22nd! You’ll also get a 4GB PS Vita memory card, a limited-edition PS Vita case, a copy of Little Deviants on PS Vita game card, and a set of AR Play game cards to enable augmented reality play with a host of free downloadable mini games. There’s more: The PS Vita First Edition Bundle also includes an AT&T DataConnect Session Pass, which is good for one free 250MB data session (a $14.99 value) upon purchase of one 250 MB data session, as well as a free PlayStation Network game that you can redeem upon 3G activation on the AT&T mobile broadband network.

Have you pre-ordered a PS Vita First Edition Bundle, or are you holding out for a different model on February 22nd? What games have you pre-ordered and, if you’ve stopped by our Vita Hill social clubs, which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments!

The simulation industry has long been closely associated with game technologies and history seems to be repeating itself: India’s number one simulation development company, Zen Technologies Limited, has decided to venture into game development and digital publishing with Version2Games Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zen Technologies Limited. Our vision is to put India on the console gaming map.

I am thrilled to announce Version2Games’ first title Smash ‘N’ Survive, coming to PlayStation Network for $14.99. The core gameplay of Smash ‘N’ Survive revolves around vehicle combat — it seems we’re in the midst of quite a vehicle-combat revival! But Smash ‘N’ Survive features several innovations such as a physics-based tornado into which you can push your enemies. This tornado is not the only environmental weapon: You’ll find catapults, crushers and other hazards scattered around the maps, and you can use them to annihilate your opponents.

Smash ‘N’ Survive stands out from the rest because it brings melee weapons that are best suited for a vehicle combat. We’re talking brutal plungers, blades, saws and geekier fare like magneto repulsor, flame throwers, and sonic weapons. You won’t find any run-of-the-mill rocket launchers or machineguns here! Smash ‘N’ Survive isn’t mindless fun, either, and you won’t get far without a solid strategy in place. Not all the weapons will inflict direct damage, as some will throw opponents or topple them, leaving them open for your next attack.

The game features 10 maps ranging from small arenas to huge levels and more than 30 selectable concept cars. The campaign mode features 19 missions, each with primary and secondary objectives. On successful completion of the primary objective, you’ll earn a bounty, unlock new cars, new game modes, and new maps and modes for versus mode.

It has been our goal to create a game that we actually wanted to play, and we wanted to include aspects of territory control, survival, bomb planting and team deathmatch in vehicle games so our game is full of these missions which are not too common in vehicle combat games. Most of the missions revolve around these themes but there are some others like derby, checkpoint race, escorting your mate, killing the convoy, chases, and more.

Finally, the Versus mode will give you hours of fun. When we invited people to try out the game, many of them spent four or five hours in the Versus mosh pit. I also want to note that Smash ‘N’ Survive offers a 100% family friendly game experience.

We haven’t mentioned all of the coolest things this game has to offer, so watch this space for more. In the meantime, have a look at our launch trailer to see some of the major features of the game.